Human Impact Project

Rigo Mendoza's wife was detained by ICE agents, and the following day his 15-year-old son Kevin, who had been diagnosed with cancer in November, died. Mendoza recalled his son's final words expressing worry for his father's safety rather than his own illness. Following his wife's detention and his son's death, Mendoza decided to self-deport to Mexico with his family.

A Filipino man who had lived in the United States for over 20 years as a lawful permanent resident, having first arrived through California in April 2004, was deported by DHS on August 18, 2026, following a final removal order issued by an immigration judge on July 2. DHS cited his affiliation with the Asian Boys gang and a California criminal record including convictions for voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault with a firearm, and drug possession, stemming from the 2018 death of a US Navy sailor on a San Diego freeway. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and related charges and was sentenced in 2020 to nine years and eight months in California state prison.

A citizen of Algeria entered the United States in March 2023 on a B2 nonimmigrant visitor visa authorized until September 5, 2023, but did not leave as required. She timely filed for asylum in January 2024, derivative of her mother's pending I-589 application, and has no documented criminal history. On August 17, 2026, she reported to a scheduled interview and was arrested for overstaying her visa, served with an administrative warrant, and issued a Notice to Appear charging her as removable. She was transferred to and remains detained at the California City Detention Facility in California City, California. She filed a habeas corpus petition and sought a temporary restraining order, arguing she was entitled to a bond hearing where the government would bear the burden of proving she is a flight risk or danger. The court found her detention is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and granted her habeas petition, ordering that she receive a bond hearing before an immigration judge within 14 days, denying the TRO request as moot, and enjoining her re-detention absent proper notice and a further bond hearing.

Maryam Tahmasebi, a professor at Los Angeles Pierce College; her husband Eissa Seyed Hashemi, an educator; and their 16-year-old son were detained by ICE in Los Angeles in April, and their green cards were revoked. Lawyers say the family was targeted because Eissa's mother, Masoumeh Ebtekar, was a spokesperson for the group that took Americans hostage during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, decades before Eissa or his son were born. Maryam and her son have been held at the Dilley detention center in Texas while Eissa is held at a nearby facility, with the family limited to a 10-minute phone call every two weeks; colleagues describe Maryam as dedicated to her students and community. After more than 120 days in detention, the family offered to voluntarily depart the country but was denied, and their lawyers say the teenage son has been detained far longer than facilities are meant to hold children, describing conditions including black mold and non-potable water at the facility.

Since the beginning of 2025, ICE has conducted extensive raids targeting day laborers seeking work at Home Depot stores across Los Angeles, with more than 500 workers detained according to estimates by the National Day Laborer Network. ICE operations have included a tactic called 'Trojan Horse,' where officers hid in a truck to enter a Hollywood branch, and raids have expanded to construction sites, traffic lights, and coffee shops where day laborers congregate. Home Depot has expelled day laborers from its facilities citing an old rule against offering services without authorization, while the company denies coordinating with ICE or sharing license plate reader data with authorities. Community groups have organized support efforts including the 'Adopt a Day Laborer Corner' documentation program and boycott campaigns.

Erwin, 31, from San Marcos, Guatemala, came to the U.S. in early 2020 seeking better opportunities and worked as a tractor driver at a recycling plant, earning $1,400 per week and sending money home to his wife and two children. After his employer discovered his fake Social Security card and fired him, and as ICE raids intensified across Los Angeles, he lost his apartment and now sleeps in an abandoned wagon in South Los Angeles, seeking day labor work at Home Depot stores despite the constant threat of detention. He visits two churches daily for food and has been unable to find steady employment, contemplating self-deportation as his situation worsens. More than 500 day laborers have been detained by ICE in Los Angeles since 2025 according to the National Day Laborer Network.

A Zimbabwean asylum seeker who was ordered removed in 2005 but was granted a withholding of removal after an immigration judge found she would likely face persecution in Zimbabwe was arrested without a warrant by ICE during a scheduled check-in appointment in San Francisco on August 14, 2026. ICE informed her that she would be removed to Cameroon, a third country, rather than Zimbabwe. She suffers from diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and schizophrenia, all requiring daily medication she may not have access to in detention. She filed a habeas corpus petition and sought a temporary restraining order seeking release pending a hearing on whether her detention is lawful, and to object to being removed to a third country without a hearing. The court granted the TRO, ordering her immediate release from custody and barring her detention or removal without a pre-detention hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court also barred her transfer out of the district without prior approval and set a briefing schedule and hearing for September 10, 2026 on whether a preliminary injunction should issue.

A man detained by immigration authorities and held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus along with a motion for emergency injunctive relief. The court converted his motion into one for a preliminary injunction and, on August 24, 2026, ordered his immediate release under his prior bond conditions, directed return of his confiscated property, and required a compliance status report. The court also barred authorities from re-detaining him under 8 U.S.C. § 1226 without first providing a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker at which the government would bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he posed a flight risk or danger requiring physical custody, and barred relocating him outside the Central District of California pending resolution of the case. The parties subsequently filed a joint proposal to grant the petition and enter judgment consistent with the preliminary injunction ruling, without further proceedings. The court granted the petition, entering judgment enjoining re-detention absent the required hearing and burden of proof.

The petitioner is an asylum seeker from Guatemala who entered the United States around July 27, 2023. He was previously apprehended and released on $2,000 bond under an Order of Release on Recognizance in August 2023, complying with required ICE check-ins. He has a pending asylum application, with his merits hearing scheduled for April 2029. In June 2026, he was arrested in Concord, California, and charged with DUI and driving without a valid license, his first and only criminal arrest, with the case still pending and unresolved. When he appeared for a scheduled ICE interview at the San Francisco Field Office on August 14, 2026, he was detained without notice, with ICE alleging he had violated his release conditions. He filed a habeas petition and TRO motion, arguing his detention violated substantive and procedural due process since he had not been convicted of any crime and posed no flight risk or danger. The court agreed, finding the government's justification insufficient, and ordered his release under a TRO that was converted into a preliminary injunction barring his re-detention or removal without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.

Immigration agents arrived in unmarked black vans around 8 a.m. on Friday, August 14, at a food vendor corridor on Sunset Avenue and Amar Road in La Puente, California, near the Don Chilaquiles stand. Witnesses and vendors, including David González and Gabriela Hoyos, said a fellow vendor selling chicharrones spotted the agents and alerted others, allowing workers to flee to their vehicles before any arrests. Two Don Chilaquiles employees told reporters that no one was detained this time because workers received the warning in time. The same location saw Border Patrol agents detain three workers in December 2025, and vendors say fear of enforcement persists even as they continue working to support their families.

Multiple armed ICE agents arrived in unmarked vehicles, some without license plates and with tinted windows, at the Morris Law Group, an immigration law firm in North Natomas, claiming to have a list from Washington, D.C. listing the building's address as a primary mailing address for numerous people. An agent displaying a Department of Homeland Security badge requested to tour the office for beds, stating they could return at 3 a.m. to break windows and enter if they received follow-up orders. Firm owner Raissa Morris, who was not present but was briefed by staff, said she instructed employees to deny entry without a warrant, and noted her clients—including asylum seekers and crime victims—are legally permitted to use the firm's address as a safe mailing address. After about an hour, building manager Daniel Azurduy told the agents they were trespassing and they left; a neighboring employee, Tanya Villa, said she witnessed agents standing outside the office. UC Davis Law Professor Kevin Johnson called the tactic unprecedented and questioned its legality, saying agents would need a warrant to search for evidence.

Miguel Lorenzana Márquez, known as Mike, was detained by ICE agents after checking in for a scheduled USCIS appointment on the morning of his daughter's 8th grade graduation in Bell Gardens, California. His family had been preparing to celebrate the milestone but instead faced unexpected separation when he was taken into custody by ICE agents shortly after his appointment began.

Samuel Gonzalez Terrones, 21, died by suicide at a railroad crossing in San Bernardino County two months after his mother, Minerva Terrones Dominguez, 54, was detained by ICE agents near a grocery store. After being diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia in May, Samuel began therapy and medication, but relied heavily on his mother to help him through mental health crises while his siblings and father worked extra shifts to pay for an immigration lawyer. His sister, Sari Gonzalez, 32, said their mother was the only one able to calm him during difficult moments while the rest of the family was at work or school. Attorney Arturo Burga had been pursuing a legal pathway called cancellation of removal, arguing Minerva's deportation would cause extreme hardship to Samuel, but the family never filed the paperwork before his death. In a note left before he died, Samuel wrote, "To the ICE agent who took away my mother: I hope it was worth it. I can't handle anymore injustices in this world." His family described him as a caring, generous person who loved video games, chocolate conchas, and dreamed of becoming a graphic designer.

Alex Pereira-Alves, a Brazilian immigrant who has lived in West Hollywood for nearly a decade working as a security guard and personal trainer, was detained by ICE after reporting to a downtown Los Angeles facility for what he believed was a routine check-in; officials told him he was 'deportable' and handcuffed him. He entered the U.S. legally in 2010, overstayed his visa, and in 2018 received a final removal order along with a grant of withholding of removal protecting him from being sent to Brazil. DHS first indicated he would be deported to Guyana, then Equatorial Guinea, countries he has no connection to, before a federal judge temporarily blocked the Equatorial Guinea deportation. His attorney, Jane Oaks, says he can no longer be sent to Brazil, deported to Equatorial Guinea, allowed to designate another country, or released, and she is filing an emergency habeas corpus petition arguing he was denied due process. His friend Jeff Markwardt, who is covering legal costs and caring for Pereira-Alves' dog Bella, said Pereira-Alves is 'terrified' and no longer feels safe in detention, and friends say the phone calls and legal filings supporting him are costing thousands of dollars.

The petitioner was paroled into the United States on June 26, 2019, and issued a Notice to Appear; he later filed for asylum and withholding of removal, and an immigration judge dismissed his Notice to Appear. On August 11, 2026, ICE apprehended him in Burbank, California, following his arrest for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and he was served a new Notice to Appear the same day. He has since been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. His family lost contact with him on August 19, 2026, and his attorney later learned he had suffered a possible stroke, was hospitalized for one night, and then returned to detention, where he says he needs prompt surgical evaluation; he also alleges the facility has withheld timely health information from his counsel. He filed a habeas petition and sought a temporary restraining order seeking immediate release, telephone access to counsel and family, a medical evaluation, or a bond hearing. The court found he was denied constitutionally required pre-detention process and granted the TRO, ordering his immediate release under his prior conditions of supervision and referring the underlying habeas petition to a magistrate judge.

An Indian national is detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. He first filed a habeas petition and TRO motion on December 17, 2025, after which a district judge ordered an individualized bond hearing and barred his transfer out of the district; an immigration judge subsequently denied bond on the merits. After briefing on the merits, the parties voluntarily dismissed that case without prejudice on August 5, 2026. Six days later, with new counsel, he filed a second habeas petition seeking the same relief—immediate release or a bond hearing—along with another emergency TRO application, citing ongoing detention, an unevaluated cardiac abnormality (documented via ECGs showing sinus tachycardia and T wave abnormality), and the lapse of the prior no-transfer order. The magistrate judge denied the TRO application without prejudice, finding no showing of imminent irreparable harm beyond what standard expedited habeas briefing could address, noting his own dismissal created the transfer risk, and pointing to General Order 26-05's two-day transfer notice requirement. The court ordered the government to answer the petition by August 18, 2026, with the matter to be submitted for final disposition shortly after.

The petitioner is a 23-year-old native and citizen of Russia who entered the U.S. with his parents and siblings in October 2022 and has remained continuously in the country since, complying with all reporting and immigration court requirements with no criminal history. He and his family applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. He suffers from moderate atopic bronchial asthma requiring inhaled medication and severe, recurrent leg cramps aggravated by confinement. After an immigration judge ruled against him and his family on August 3, 2026 (an appeal now pending before the BIA), he was instructed to report to ICE for a scheduled check-in, where officers took him into custody without prior notice or an opportunity to contest the detention, and denied his requests to contact family or obtain his medication. He was transported to and remains held at Adelanto Detention Facility without a bond hearing. He filed a habeas petition and TRO application seeking immediate release, and the government did not oppose the petition. The court granted the petition, ordering his immediate release and barring re-detention absent notice and a hearing showing materially changed circumstances.

A Guatemalan teenager who fled to the US in 2022 at age 16 to escape domestic violence has lived in the country for about four years. He was initially processed as an unaccompanied minor, held by DHS/ORR, and released to his aunt, a vetted sponsor, after being deemed neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. He currently lives in Daly City with his mother, works at a Korean restaurant, and has no criminal history. On August 10, 2026, four ICE officers arrested him outside his home, handcuffed him despite his complaints of pain, and drove him to a parking structure where he was pressured to sign a document. He filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and a TRO motion challenging the lawfulness of his detention and seeking release plus protection from re-detention without notice and a hearing. The court found he was likely to succeed on his procedural due process claims and granted the TRO, ordering his immediate release, barring removal or transfer out of the district, and setting a show cause hearing for August 24, 2026.

A Ravenswood parent was detained by immigration in July in front of their family's home and transferred to an out-of-state detention facility. The family, facing constant stress and fear of ICE involvement, decided to self-deport together rather than pursue an uncertain legal path and risk lengthy detention. An attorney is representing the family through the self-deportation process to ensure they are treated fairly and arrive together in their destination country.

Federal immigration agents conducted sweeps at more than 106 car washes across Southern California, including Los Angeles, Orange County, Inglewood, Culver City, Westchester, Bell, and Whittier, detaining at least 373 workers. Officers in masks and bulletproof vests arrived in pickup trucks and removed workers from their jobs within minutes. The enforcement operation targeted car washes as part of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown in the region. According to the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, family members have been deported or remain in detention, and many workers live with ongoing fear of apprehension. The raids prompted protests against the enforcement operations.